Last year I had every intention of kicking my social media posting in the butt. As my bullet journal showed at the end of the year, I failed. As I said in my earlier post, me and social media have a fraught relationship.
I want to like it.
When social media was growing in popularity, I enjoyed it quite a bit. As time went on, life changed, my attitude changed, I started liking it less and less. For personal life that is fine. I don’t take pictures with any intention of posting them. I feel no urge to share what happened in my day. I’ve turned that piece of my brain off and it feels good. When it comes to self-promotion and gaining an audience for sharing my book… that’s a terrible thing.
Facebook has good qualities. Like the day I found out Dandelion Jane: Strawberry Jelly had been spied at a local library by a friend. I am sure I would have found this information out, but Facebook sure made it easy.
I am working hard this year to embrace Facebook and the good it offers. People do enjoy hearing the funny things that happen in your day and engaging with you on a personal level. Use that to your advantage when trying to promote your writing. Something Ryan said to me about engaging coworkers stuck with me and I try to apply it to social media: be a whole person.
Yes, I want to talk about my book, my writing, my blog, but people need to see me as more than just a writer. I appreciate the celebrities I follow and other start-up writers who post about their real lives, I have to remind myself to do the same. But for real, post the crap out of your work.